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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. present — the time now
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spring — the season
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pit — a hole
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — there
  20. spell — magic
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pit — in a race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com